Road-repairing apparatus



s. H FETTER ROAD REPAIRING APPARATUS Filed Aug .27; 1923 June 30, 1925. 1,544,438

5 Sheets-Sheet 1 S. H. FETTER ROQD REPAIRING APPARATUS June 30, 1925.

Filed Aug. 27-; 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 film" Maya Patented June 30, 1925.

UNITED STATES sAMUEi. FE'r'rEn, or SUNBURY,- IENNSYLVANIA, ASSiGNOB o1 oNn rLeIir"To TRUMAN J. r anY, or SUNBURY; PENNSYLVANIA.

PATENT OFFICE;

ROAD-REPAIRING APPARATUS,

Application filed August 27, 192?} .seria No. 659,553. r

To all whom it may concern: Be it know that I, SAMUEL citizen of the United States, residing at Sunbury, in the county of Northumberland and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Road-Repairing Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. v

The invention relates to apparatus for repairing damaged road surfaces and structures by'the application of a repair medium such as asphalt, bitumen and the like, by means of a special form of heating and smoothing device, associated with a receptacle to contain the repairing medium, which latter is preferably delivered through a discharge orifice in the smoothing device, in regulated quantities to fill up the cracks, abrasions or other cavities formed in the surface and body of the road structure, and to effect a thorough union betweenthe filling material and the road structure, by the application of heat and pressure from the smoothing device. Preferably the device is associated with a vehicle carried unit, comprising a dynamo electric generator driven by an internal combustion motor, a tank for holding the repairing material, which tank is preferably heated by the ex haust gases from the internal combustion r motor, by an electric heater supplied with current from the generator, or by both, said generator also supplying current to heat the smoothing device and also the ma terial carried by the receptacle associated therewith, and preferably to supply current to a heating coil associated with or incorporated'in the body of a hose or flexible conduit connecting the tank with the receptacle on the smoothing device so that the repair mat'erial may be maintained at the proper tem p'erature to cause the same to flow readily and also to coalesce with and form an intimate union with the road structure to be repaired. I

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which I p Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus associated with an automobile truck. p v

Fig. 2 is a plan view. 1 Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional elevation H FETTER, a

of the smoothing device and the associated receptacle for the, repair material,

Fig. 4' is a sectional elevationofthe storage tank. Fi of the discharge pipe fromth'e tank and the flexible hose. 7 V i i Fig. 6 is a plan view of the smoothing dev ce graphically illustrating the electric heating unit therein. I i l I Fig. 7 is a detail 7 supportingmeans for the smoothing device.

Fig. 8 is adiagram of the circuits; Referring to the' drawing, l;indic'ates an automobile truck of any suitable type, upon g. 5 is a detail view, partly in section,

view of reg'ulabl'e the rear of which is ,remova'bly mounted a skid or framework 2 carrying a storage tank 3 provided with a heating j acket hand an internal combustion engine'fi, the exhaust 6 of which discharges into the heating jacket l of the tank 3, finally je'scaping from the exhaust pipe, 7 preferably.located near the top of the tank.

The internal combustion motor 5 is con nected in any suitable manner to a dynamo electric generator 8. v,

vided wltha d scharge pipe 10, at its lower The tank 3, is prorear portion, which pipe; is providedjwith a regulating valve 11. The/unit 6 thus aeseribed is designed to provide afre serve supply ot the repairma-terial, such as asphalt, bitumen or th'e'like in the tank, which material is maintained in a properly heated condition either by means of the exhaust gases from the internal combustion motor, by means of electric heating unit supplied with current from the generator, or by both of said heating means. I

The rep air material is; supplied tothe road surfaces to fill up thepcracl'rs, abrasions or other cavities in the roadv surfaceor structure by means of novel form of smoothing device or iron, the principal elements of pairmedium into all of the cracks'and other w openings in the road surface or structure,

efl'e'ctan intimate union between the repair vpaired sections of the road. The receptacle 20 is provided with an inlet: 22 and. alsora larger opening 21, provided with a remov-' able cover 21'.

' to be connected by means of-a hose or-simi-,

lar flexible conduit 23 withthe discharge pipe of the tank 3, when the smoothing device is employed in conjunction With'the i tank and its accessories carried by the automobile truck; 'The covered opening 21 is to be used for fillingthe receptacle when the smoothing device is used independently of the truck, and also for the purpose of ationjis found necessary.) j The} body portion '15 of thesmo'othing device is provided with a vertical discharge 7 cleaning out the receptacle when such operorifice ll' opening into the lower or smoothing facet16 of the body, which latter isinormally in contact with the road surface during the application of'the repair material to the road. The discharge orifice is controlled by a suitable valve which may take the form a of .asliding gate 18 which-is operated in 'a' slot'formedin said body portion, said gate being controlled by a handle '19, the

outer end of which-is supported from a suitable handle or draft bar 20, by means of which'the smoothing device ismoved and directed over the particularportion of theroad surface towhich the repair materialis to beydelivered.

As'indicated, the smoothing device is fadapted to be connected'to the tank 3 by i means of a flexible hose 23, of suitable length to permit a wide range of operation by the iron or, smoothing device'to the road surface, during the application of therepair material, the saiddevice is provided a with adjustable cast'ors or rollers, which may 'p1ate's'127 -on the sockets 26 up or down,ifit' will'be apparent thatthe amount of pressure conveniently v take the form illustrated in Fig: 7; inz-whicha indicates the wheel of oneof four such rollers or castors, disposed in pairs on opposite. sides of the smoothing device, said roller being mounted in a yoke 25, slidably mounted in a socket 26, which latter is adj ustably secured to the'side of the smoothing device by means of bolts'29 passingthrough slots 28 in the plateJ27. Preferably each of the rollers is cushioned bya spring. 30' mounte'd in the, socket 26, the

' tension offwhich' spring is regulated by a set screwand follower 31 threaded into'the top of the socket." By adjustingthe foot d1? dead weight of the smoothingdevicr'di' feature the road surface maybe accurately The opening 22 is adapted;

rollers-or castors to facilitate transportation not in operation. 7

Weight of the devicemay. be taken up by the rollers. Also by movingthe adjustable socketsdownward to, the full-extent of their raised entirely out of contact with the road surface-and will supported fwholly by the of the smoothing device whenthelatter is Inasmuch as therepair'material is applied regulated and any desired poi-tionf of the 7 to the road intermittentlyandfin relatively 7 small quantities, it is in' ecessaryto maintain the temperature of thexasphalt or bitumen j containedin thereceptacle 3 at a proper uniform temperature, which may vary from one hundred and fifty to' four hundrerl d egrees, depending upon the particular -character of the material employed. It" is also necessaryto' heat the smoothing; device to a similar degree in'; order to heat the surface. r 2: 7 of the road to be treated and toeif'ect a thorough coalescence 'betweentheibindingf' f" medium and the'surfaces of' the road. structure withwhich the latter comesintofconi tact. This dual heating, function is "preferably produced by meansbf a ni electric heating device,'of any convenient or preferred form, which receives its supply of heating current from the generator8. :As'shown, the body '15 of the smoothingdevice has imbedded therein a'heating unit 14, which is adapted to be coupled up 'with the generator 7 8 by means of. suitable leads, in one of which is interposed a rheostat and switching device 4:2, meansnf which thefcurrent is l switched on and off andithe. amount of'curirent suppliedfto the heating device-441m;

latter result will be produced by the heat transmitted from the body 15 directly to thematerial in the receptacle. Obviouslyy,

if desired, the body of'the iron'or smoothingdeviceil5xmay be heated in wholeor in part by means of the exhaust gases from the internal combustion motor '5, as suitably *ja cketing body 1'5'and leading the ex- V haust-f gases from the motorthrouglr the jacket by means of a suitable flexible condui't, 'and,if' desired, boththe electric and exhaust gas heating means may be employed. f It may also be found necessary to supply heat to the repair material as -the latter passesfrom the tank 3=to the receptacle20 of thesmoothing device, in order tomaintain the" proper temperature of the material.

To effect this object, the h0se'i23 :.ma sb jacketed "to" receive the exhaustfgajses which pass from the-engine 45'through the' j acket of the tank 3, in which case the jacketf o-f, the hose 23 will beficonnected to the jacket '7 of the body 15 at the iron or smoothing de vice, so that the exhaust gases, will ass continuously. from the engineer) through the jacket of the tank 3, the jacket of the hose 2 3 and the jacket of the iron 15, from which latter they will be-exhausted to the atmos phere. Preferably, however, a special form of electric heating device is provided for the hose 23, which may be used either alone or in conjunction with the eXhaust gases from the engine 45. As illustrated in 5, the fleiiiblehose has imbedded therein or associated tierewith an electricheating coil '47, which is connected with the leads from the generator 8, preferably in parallel with the coils of the heating device 44, as Shown in the diagram of Fig. 8. v

The electric circuits for effecting the heating of the iron 15 and the hose 23 are shown in Fig. 8 as follows: from one brush of the generator 8 through lead 41 to the arm of the switch and rheostat 42, thence by lead 43 to one terminal of the heating coil 44, through said coil and lead 45 back to the other brush of the generator, branches 46 and 48 serve to connect the c oil 47 of the heating unit, associated with thehose 23, in parallel with the coil 44 so that the amount of current supplied to the heating units 44 and 47 will be simultaneously regulated by the rheostat 42. In operating the smoothing un'it alone, the receptacle 20 is filled with hot asphalt, bitumen or similar repair material, and the heating unit 44 is connected with a suitable electric supply so that the body 15 of the smoothing device is raised to the appropriate temperature. The amount of pressure to be developed by the smoothing device on the road surface is determined, in accordance with the character of the repair mate rial employed, and the supporting rollers or castors are adjustedsoas to take up the excess weight of the smoothing device. lVhen these adj ustmentshave been made and the repair material in the receptacle 20 has been raised to the proper teiri'perature, the machine is moved over the particular portions of the road to be repaired, such as cracks, abrasions or other cavities in the road, and the slide valve is moved to open the discharge orifice '17 connecting the interior of the receptacle 20 withthe lower or road engaging surface of the smoothing device or iron 15. The hot repair material flows through the orifice and into t e cavi ties in the road surface and structure, and as the road absorbs heat from the smoothing device, that portion of the road to receive the repair material will be properly heated to effect an intimate coalescence between the repair material and the road structure. The surface of the smoothing device being in intima-te contact with the road surface, it will smooth off and reduce all inequalities in the supply material and will also, in a large measure, smooth out any eXisting inequali ties inthe road surface itself when the lattei iiicludes, irrits' construction, aplastic such asasphalt, bitumen, tar or the like. In order that the repair'material may be applied only Where necessary, the smoothing device is moved and guided by the handle 2Q so that the mouth of the discharge orifice 17 will follow tlle cour'se of the cracks in the roadway or traverse back and forth over larger depressions or cavities which may have been formed in the road surface or structure'. By this means, the I proper amount of repair materialmay be. accurate- 1y distributed and. incorporated with the road surface and structure and the road surface smoothed off and compacted in a single, operation. In case the device is to be used in the application of hot or cold patchesto a road surface, including the useoffmineral aggregates, such as crushed stone, gravel or sand, the solid material, may be filled into the. cavities in the road and brought to the proper grade, after which the-smoothing device maybemoved back and forth over th'esurface of the supplied aggregate to distribute a proper quahtity of the hot binding medium thereto and effect 'a thorough compacting of the composite patch and all intimate union between the latter and the body of the road."

'lVhenit is desired to use the smoothing device to iron out existing irregularities, such as waves, shoves or, rolls in the surface of a composite road which includes a more or less viscous binding medium in the composition; the siiioothing device may be employed Without'the application of the repair inediuiii, by heating the same to the necessary temperature and then drawing the device over the irregularities in the-road sii f'face until the same has been heated and softened suiii'ciently, so that they will ef fectively iron out under the pressure imposed by the Weight of the body 15 and its accessories; Y K

Wl'ien the smoothing device is ei'nployedv in conjunction with the supply unit on the truck, it is coupled with the tank 3 by means of the hose 23 as hereiubefor'e explained and a 'suflicieiit amount of the" hot repair ma: terial in the tank is supplied tothe receptacle 20 by openingf'up the valve 11. The I minals of the heating device 44. After the receptacle 20 has been filled, the valve 11 is closed. The smoothing device is then opera-ted over the particular sections of the road to be repaired, as hereinbefore deform temperature by the particular heating means described, so that the hot material V maybe supplied to the receptacle QO Wh'enE' scribed, until the receptacle ispractically exhausted. ln moving from one toanotherof the cracks, or depressions Where repairs are to-be made, the Valve 18 is closed; "During the entire p on, the reserve material I thereof on the road.

initlie tank 3 is kept at a substantially uni everinecessary, the temperature beingimain tained while the material is in transityfrpm i the ,tank to the receptacle by means of the general rule, a single smoothing device will 7 heating unit in: the connecting hose; Oh-

'vious'ly, two or more of theusmoothingde- 1 5.

vices may be coupledup with the same supply unit on the automobile truck Where the venigencies require multiple unitsbut, as abefo'und suflicient to meet all the require ments ofiordmary repair work. y

' ,VVhatiI eclaimis n r 1 :1 Apparatus for repairing road 7 surfaces compr sing a weighted 'smoothingdevice, a receptacle for repair material thereon, means for discharging the. material in regulab-le quantities from'said "receptacle onto porttionsof the road acted upon by the smoothing device, and means for heating said ,device; e e r v2, Apparatus for repairing road surfaces comprising" asmoothing iron having a valved discharge orifice therein, a receptacle for repair materialon said iron and connected with said orifice, ,meansformoving sa -1d iron over the surface to be repaired, and

means: for heating thefiron and the material in sa d receptacle. a m Apparatus for, repa ringroad surfaces comprising: a smoothing iron having a valved dischargeorifice in its road engaging surface, a receptacle for receiving repair material; on said iron and connected with said orifice, means for moving said iron over the surface to be repaired, andmeans for heating the iron and the material in said ec p c e r i 1 I 4. Apparatus for repairing road surfaces comprising a Weighted smoothing device having discharge opening inits road en gaging surface, means'for supplying repair vmaterial to the road surface through said orifice, means for heating said smoothingfdee v ce, and means. for 'moving said dev ce over the surface to be repaired.

f v Apparatus for r having ai discharge opening in its road ent gaging surface, meansfo'r supplying repair epairing road surfaces compr s ng a weighted smoothing devlce wees orifice, means for heatingsaid smoothing deing the pressure of the smoothing Apparatus for frepairing road comprising a Weighted smoothing device having a discharge opening in its weaken-3 gagingfsurface, means for supplying repair material to the road surface tl'irough] said orifice, means for heating said smoothing device, means for' moving device over the surface to 'be 7 repaired, and" adjustable siipporting wheels on-saidi" device for reg k ulating he-pressure fof the smoothing surface ofthe latter, on the road;

7. Apparatus for repairing roadgsurfaces comprisinga portablereceptacle for repair material havi n Ta weightedbottom consti:

tiltingas'moot ing deviceprovided vvith a discharge orifice in itslovver face fordirecting the material 1 onto the :road surface, s

eans for heatingfsaid bottom and means for mm' mg the device over thesurface of the road, to be repaired.

I 8. Apparatus for: repairing roadsurfaces comprising a portablereceptacle for repair material h'avin a vWeighted bottom consti tilting a smoothing device 7 provided with v a discharge orifice in itslovve'r face for direct ing the material onto the-road surface, means for heating,sai'dbottom,fand a handle for'movingbthe deviceover the surface of the ioadjto be repaired.

I S 'Apparatus for repairing road surfaces comprising a smoothing iron having areceptacleifoi-repair material fon its back and a disch'argeorifice connecting said recep tacle Withthe road engaging face oftheiro i, a storage tank for. the "repair 'material, a

flexible conduitconnecting" the tank with the receptacle, means for'lieating the material in the tank and the smoothingiron, and means for'moving the iron'over thesurfa'ce ofthe. road to ,be' repaired.

,lOgApparat-us forrepairing road surfaces comprising a smoothing ironhavinga receptacle for repair material on its back, a

regulating valve controlling said orifice, a

storage tank for therepa'ir'material, a flexible conduit connecting'thetank with theren ceptacle," means for heating the material in the tank' and the' smoothing iron, and means for moving, the iron over the isjurface of tlre road to be repaired;

5 "SA'MUELH- BET R 

